Overview

Lifesaving Lessons: Notes from an Accidental Mother by Linda Greenlaw

New York Times–bestselling author Linda Greenlaw tells of her greatest challenge: adopting a teenage daughter

The only female swordfish boat captain in the country and a survivor of the real Perfect Storm, Linda Greenlaw was not a woman to shy away from a challenge. Then came fifteen-year-old Mariah—the greatest force of nature Greenlaw has ever encountered. In this chronicle of becoming a mother to a troubled teenage girl, Greenlaw’s fans will be delighted by her trademark candor and down-to-earth style of storytelling, and will see a side of her that’s never been revealed before. New readers, and any parent of a teenage daughter, will find much to empathize with in this brave and heartfelt new memoir.

Product Details

About the Author

Linda Greenlaw, America’s only female swordfish boat captain, was featured in the book and film The Perfect Storm. She has written three New York Times bestselling nonfiction books about life as a commercial fisherman as well as a cookbook and two mysteries. She lives on Isle au Haut, off the coast of Maine.

Hometown:

Isle au Haut, Maine

Place of Birth:

Stamford, Connecticut

Education:

B.A., Colby College, 1983

Editorial Reviews

As a swordfish boat captain and successful author, Greenlaw (Seaworthy and The Hungry Ocean) worked hard creating an independent life on an idyllic island off the coast of Maine. She settled into a rewarding routine of writing, fishing and family obligations. Unexpectedly, she became the legal guardian for a sexually abused teenage girl. Creating a loving home for her new daughter becomes a monumental three-year struggle of wills between the no-nonsense Greenlaw and the needy, confused, and surly teenager, who needs extra love and care. As the scope of the girl’s abuse becomes clear and a darker side of island life is revealed, Greenlaw receives support from an unexpected quarter: the island’s community of women. Not prone to friendship with females, Greenlaw revels in the intensity of the bonds created by the teenager’s plight. “These friendships were tight and immediate and as heartfelt as any I had with my longtime guy friends.” While struggling to get up to speed with her mothering skills, Greenlaw laments the status of her romantic but stalled relationship. “But we weren’t married, and I had just latched on to the realization that we never would be. This was depressing.” Greenlaw’s memoir deftly chronicles her journey to motherhood, without whitewashing away the toughness of the trek or the joy she experiences along the way. Agent: Stuart Krichevsky, Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Linda Greenlaw and Seaworthy

"Book readers should rejoice...Greenlaw's writing sweeps the reader along not only for the incidents at sea but also for her candid reflections about them." — The Huffington Post

"Greenlaw speaks with unquestionable authority when fashioning the salty atmosphere of swordfishing life. A vanishing slice of life caught with ardor and freshness." — Kirkus

"Greenlaw knows how to spin a good yarn...Seaworthy is a more reflective book, pondering not just the vageries of nature but the nature of success and self-defintion." — NPR.com

"Greenlaw is a remarkable woman who can hold her own, whether it's in the male-dominated fishing industry or on the printed page." — TucsonCitizen.com

"Pure joy." — The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville)

"Even if you never really wanted to go to sea for months at a time on a fishing boat...you'll be caught from the very first sentence of this engrossing and illuminating book." — San Francisco Book Review

Praise for The Hungry Ocean:

“Anyone who loves the sea will love this book.”

— Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm

“A beautiful book…A story of triumph, of a woman not only making it but succeeding at the highest level in one of the most male-dominated and most dangerous professions.” — Douglas Whynott, The New York Times Book Review

Praise for The Lobster Chronicles:

“These true, interwoven stories of island life and lobstering are as engaging and uncommon as [Greenlaw’s] adventures at sea.” — Boston Magazine

Praise for All Fisherman Are Liars:

“You can’t help but be a bit in awe of Greenlaw for her gutsiness, and she comes across as so darn likable you wish you were sitting at the Dry Dock next to her.” — The Miami Herald

From the Publisher

The country's only female swordfish-boat captain, a Discovery Channel star, and the author of three New York Times best sellers, Greenlaw took on a new challenge when her island community made her guardian of teenaged Mariah. Mariah had come there to live with her uncle, a newcomer who turned out to have abused her terribly. A tale, then, of love and healing; with a six-city tour.

Library Journal

America's only female swordfish-boat captain returns with a straightforward account of the challenges she faced in becoming the legal guardian of a sexually abused teenager and in balancing unexpected motherhood with her reclusive lifestyle on a tiny island off the coast of Maine. A resident of Isle au Haut, whose population at the time numbered less than 50 in the off-season, Greenlaw (Seaworthy, 2010, etc.) and her community were disturbed to realize they did not live in a "[p]ristine" place. Upon learning that a pedophile resided among them, they rallied to aid Mariah, a 15-year-old who had moved to the island with her stepfather's alcoholic brother, "Uncle" Ken. Greenlaw charts the course of her earlier choice to live a childless life through events that led to Mariah's rescue, Ken's arrest, trial and conviction, and its aftermath. The author's no-nonsense approach to daily life led to honest admissions of selfishness and her desire for solitude, but she gradually warmed to the realization that guardianship involved more than providing material needs and security. Secondary themes of sisterhood and of developing female friendships later in life add depth to a work that otherwise explores a sensitive topic in familiar ways--from initial outrage to healing, wariness to acceptance, and an adolescent's tumultuous beginnings to high school graduation and acceptance to college. Though descriptions of emotions occasionally step into cliché, Greenlaw is at her finest when drawing parallels between life at sea and her new role as a mother. A competent work intended to encourage others in similar situations, but will appeal most to fans of Greenlaw's previous Isle au Haut installment, The Lobster Chronicles.